Difference
by Crimson Cupcake
Summary: -COMPLETED- Uchiha Sasuke. Uchiha Itachi. Two different people, who share the same bond, whether it be hatred or love. TWOSHOT! R&R!
1. Before that day

**A/N: This one was inspired by **_devotedtodreams, _**so give it up!! -claps- Anyway, it's a two-shot about the Uchiha brothers who, you should know well by now, are Itachi and Sasuke. I'm so sorry! I tried to make it as long as I possibly could, but failed miserably...sorry...but do read it!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is NOT mine! End. Of. Story.**

* * *

"Nii-san! Nii-san!" A small figure was sprinting as fast as he could towards his brother, along the pale road that winded throughout Konoha. Sasuke waved furiously, a wide smile evident on his face as he watched Itachi. The elder detached himself from his squad and walked over to his squirming younger brother, a smile on his face. Suddenly, his feet refused to move. He fell forward, almost in slow motion, with a look of utter surprise on his face...

...only to be caught by a gentle yet strong hand. He looked up into Itachi's face, all smiles.

"Next time, look where you're going, won't you, Sasuke?"

"Mmmm..." Sasuke nodded, brushing himself. "I wasn't supposed to fall. I'm already seven! I'm in the academy already. I shouldn't disgrace our clan's name" he protested.

Itachi smiled, shaking his head and helping his brother up. "Sometimes, it's okay to fall, if you get up again."

"Get...up...again?" For a moment Sasuke looked confused, then he nodded. "Like when you helped me up, right?"

Itachi nodded. "But don't forget, one day, I won't be here to help you. You'll have to help yourself up and continue falling. You can't just stay lying there."

"I will," he promised. "But-but of course you'll help me, right, Nii-san?" Sasuke's innocent face pleaded.

"Maybe Sasuke, maybe...now let's go home," Itachi smiled, feeling his brother's hand tightly.

"Already?" The disappointment was in his voice and face.

"Come on, it'll be lunch soon."

"No!" Sasuke remained as stubborn as ever.

"Please?" The elder sighed.

"Help me train?" Sasuke seized an opportunity.

"Fine then. Go home now?"

"Mhmm..." The younger Uchiha snuggled against his brother.

"Itachi! Wait! You up for a party?" One of his friends called from behind him.

"Uh...I need to help Sasuke-" Itachi began.

"Come _on_, you can help him with whatever you need later!"

"Nii-san!" Sasuke tugged at his brother's hand desperately.

"Sorry Daisuke, another time maybe?" With a wave of his hand, Itachi led his brother home, ignoring the surprised looks he earned from his friends.

"Does he really care about him that much?" Daisuke blinked as the two walked off.

--

Sasuke was lying on the couch, a lazy small smile on his face and looking up at his brother. The two had arrived home just in time for lunch and now, after lunch, Sasuke was attempting to doze on the couch. But one thing kept nagging at his mind.

"Ano...Aniki?"

Itachi looked up from the newspaper he was reading. "Hmm? What is it, Sasuke? You're usually training at a time like this," he replied.

"So are you!" Sasuke grinned back. Itachi smiled slightly, seeing his brother's enthusiasm and cheek.

"Yeah...but I've decided to take a day off for today."

Sasuke looked momentarily surprised. "Something bothering you?" he asked caringly. Itachi only stopped training when that happened.

"Not really," Itachi laughed, pushing away the secret mission he had been assigned. "I've just finished a mission, after all. So, what's on your mind?"

"Um...don't laugh..." Sasuke looked a little embarrassed.

"Don't worry," Itachi assured him. "I won't."

"Okay..." Sasuke still looked a little uncomfortable, but considerably less than before. "Thanks for leading me home...I thought you were going to go with your friends..."

Itachi laughed, but noticed Sasuke's expression of discontent and stopped quickly. "Did you really think I would do that?" he asked. "Remember, Sasuke, I love you more than anything."

"More than your friends?"

"Of course! More than anyone else in the world..."

"I love you too, Nii-san," Sasuke purred. "I'll never hate you no matter what!"

Itachi shook his head, but couldn't resist a smile at his brother's naivety. "Did you forget what I told you already? Times will change. I just hope your feelings won't."

"It won't," Sasuke whispered, sitting up to hug his brother.

"You don't know that," Itachi corrected.

"I do," Sasuke replied. "I'll always love you, Nii-san."

"I hope so Sasuke. I hope so..."

"You won't ever hate me, will you?" Sasuke asked, suddenly looking concerned.

"Of course not. I'll love you, Sasuke, now and forever..."

* * *

**A/N: I tried my best -shrugs- So...REVIEW?? Please? It was my first try and I promise you the second chapter shall be better! Please? I'd wuff you **

**Uh...have a nice day?**

**Art is a bang XD**


	2. Eight years later

**A/N: Bwahahaha after a long gap, I'm back! This time, I did enjoy writing. The description may have been a bit...meh-ish...but I'm working on it :D Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, it means a lot to me! Oh, and one more thing to those who read my other stories:**

**_I shall not be updating in November._ _You see, something has come to my attention, something called _****NaNoWriMo****_. It stands for National Novel Writing Month. For more information, please check my pofile. Even though you only have two days or so, please check it out. To all fanfiction writers out there: NaNoWriMo will help you. A lot._**

**Disclaimer: **I own Naruto as much as I own Bleach which is as much as I own NaNoWriMo. In other words, I own just about 0% of it. In other words, I don't own anything at all. Except for this fic of course, but that's another story.

**Now, time for my fanfiction!**

**P.S. If you think my spelling of the word _color_ is weird (I'm writing _colour _****in here) it's because I'm Australian dummy! I don't want to see a single flame about it complaining because, trust me, I've saw it before. Repeat for any brainded **(that's right, brainDED) **people out there: I. Am. Australian....Australians. Spell. It. Colour. Not. Color. Got. It? Good. Sorry for the rant -guilty-**

* * *

The wind whistled past his ear, bringing with it a pack of fallen, crinkling leaves. They spiralled up into the sky, creating something beautiful only nature could bring. The reds and yellow of the forest in autumn were insignificant against the dark, towering grey sky, in which threatening black clouds were ready to pour down their tears in an instant. A few small birds managed to let out a choked cry, before returning hastily to their nests. It couldn't be helped. Everyone knew it. A storm was coming.

A lone boy stood on a cliff, high above. He was barely older than fifteen, but his dark eyes burnt with knowledge that he had seen too much. They should have been innocent, in the height of his happiness, yet they reflected grief and fury and...perhaps regret. His raven hair billowed in the wind, along with his cloak. At a closer look, he was quite attractive. But he seemed apart from the rest of the world, as if separated by a giant wall that could not be knocked down, utterly ignoring his surroundings. His eyes were blank for a moment, as he stared down into the green, absorbed in his own thoughts.

Uchiha Sasuke was deep in thought.

Eight years. It was eight years since the massacre of the Uchiha Clan happened. Ever since that day, he had not been himself. His whole clan was dead. All thanks to Uchiha Itachi. His loathed and detested brother. No, he decided. Loathe and detest were only a hint of what he was feeling. He was feeling absolute fury and revulsion at what his brother had done. It was even worse than that. He could never be forgiven, even if he begged on his knees. A small smirk forced its way onto his lips, which parted slowly, almost involuntarily. Sasuke let out a long and shaky sigh, and cleaned himself of such thoughts. His brother had not been himself. That was what he had told himself again and again, all these years. But at last, he knew better.

Itachi had been himself. Itachi had thought carefully about every single event before striking. That was him. That was his famous, no, infamous brother. Ever since a child, Itachi had been loved and treasured by the whole clan. And what about Sasuke? The ultimate Uchiha star's brother? He had been shoved aside to make space for his wonderful prodigious brother. And that prodigious brother had betrayed them, slaughtering the entire clan. Just thinking about that made Sasuke's heart boil with anger. Something deep inside him, a monster, raised its head.

"The entire clan, Itachi!" he roared up to the sky. Sasuke couldn't help himself. "Why...why?" he gasped, as tears began leaking out of the corner of his eyes. "Why did you do it? I'll never forgive you!" he sobbed, making no move to wipe the tears away. He let them stream down, as if they'll ease the pain he had kept inside for so long.

"I loved you. I treasured you. I looked up to you as the brother I would someday overcome. I did everything to help you, to surpass you. And then..." His voice broke. "You betrayed me!" Everything he had felt: pain, anger, betrayal, a mixture of emotions, was in his voice. His eyes stung as fresh tears forced themselves out. His hands formed into fists, nails biting so hard until they drew blood. A roar of thunder shook the entire forest, but he alone was unaffected.

"I hate you."

It was whispered. Sasuke collapsed, shaking, onto his knees, eyes determinedly staring at the ground. He couldn't help it. He screamed.

"I hate you, Itachi!"

It began to rain.

Slowly, at first. One drop at a time. But before he knew it, tonnes of water poured down from the sky, mixing with his tears and making the dirt muddy. Sasuke made no move to stand up, to hide from the rain. He didn't want to hide any longer. If this continued, he would pull himself apart. He was already slowly coming apart, he knew. Slowly losing his sanity. If he didn't find Itachi soon...

"Why don't you get up, otouto? It's raining, you know?"

Sasuke spun around, the remains of endless tears still on his face. For a moment, he couldn't detect where the voice was from. It was a loving voice, so caressing, and it had a familiar touch to it. Then he saw him. Standing near the protection of the forest was his brother, Itachi. His Akatsuki cloak was nowhere to be seen, and finally pain and sadness reflected in his eyes. Those hard eyes. After all these years, he had finally appeared.

Sasuke's first reaction was shock. His next one was anger. After that came his physical reaction. His eyes, black before, now burnt with the colour of blood red, the Sharingan. His mouth curved into a sneer, and when he spoke, his voice shook to control the anger.

"So you've finally decided to die then, Uchiha Itachi?"

Either Itachi didn't notice the murderous tone in his brother's voice, or he chose to ignore it. Nothing changed in the slightest in his expression. "No," he said quite calmly, even with a hint of a smile. Sasuke's scowl darkened. "I just heard your yelling and came to see what the problem is."

A sharp intake of breath from his brother's direction brought a smirk onto Itachi's face. Sasuke was paralysed with shock, half kneeling in the dirt. "You...you don't mean...you heard?" he stuttered, too flustered to make a witty remark.

"Of course I heard. I heard everything. Even about the hating me part," came the smooth response.

Sasuke was sure he was imagining it, but he could hear an almost sad or resentful tone in Itachi's voice. "I have good reason to," he growled. It surprised him that he wasn't attacking Itachi, now that he had finally appeared. Maybe patience _was_ his virtue, after all.

"I know."

This time, Sasuke could definitely hear it. The sad, regretful tone, as if Itachi wanted his brother to love him. He snorted, but even more to his surprise, his anger faded, to be replaced by bitter defeat. "Apologize," he whispered, tearing his eyes from his enemy.

Itachi's smile returned, and Sasuke could even see the perfect aniki he had once been. "I told you, I heard everything. 'I'll never forgive you', isn't that what you said?"

The anger returned, giving Sasuke a hard edge to his next words. "Just apologize!" he screamed, anguish tearing at every fibre of his body.

He watched as Itachi looked down. There was silence for a moment. The silence stretched on until Sasuke was certain his brother wasn't going to answer.

"Answer me, Itachi! Apologize. Say...say you're really sorry..."

His brother's face was blank. But then...

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. Maybe next time."

Sasuke's eyes widened. Not this. Not this. Not this. His brain kept telling himself. Itachi walked forward, and Sasuke could almost see the terror in his own eyes.

_Poke._

"Argh!"

He fell backwards, almost off the cliff as Itachi poked him between the eyes with two fingers. Just like the old times.

"Sorry Sasuke." Itachi whispered. _You don't understand, Sasuke. I can't hate you. _Sasuke swore he saw the trace of a single tear, just like the day their clan was slaughtered. Lightning struck. When the younger Uchiha opened his eyes, squinting to catch another glimpse of his brother, he found nothing but a card where Itachi once stood.

"Itachi..." The tears came again, stronger and faster than usual. Sasuke crawled over and, just against the rain, could just read the words written on the card.

_I love you._

Sasuke stared at the card for a long time, his confused brain trying to make sense of the words. At last, he wetted his lips enough to utter a reply.

"I love you too, Aniki."

* * *

**A/N: Maybe not as long as everything else, but better than my last one, no? Please don't forget to read my A/N at the start. It's important for a lot of things.**

**Hidan: Said Authoress spells colour like how it is in the story. Deal with it. Seriously.**

**Thank you, Hidan. Now, if you will review (pretty please)? Ja mata ne! Don't forget to check out my other stories :D**

**~Art is a bang XD **


End file.
